2017 Rohatyn Prize

New York, NY, June 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A panel of judges has selected ten semifinalist schools that will now vie for Teaching Matters’ $25,000 Elizabeth Rohatyn Prize for Schools Where Teaching Matters.

Each year since 2010, the prize has supported principals’ efforts to boost effective teaching in their buildings. P.S. 009 Sarah Anderson Principal Katherine Witzke, last year’s winner and a current judge, says, “The award was just what we needed – it lifted our capacity to implement internal inter-visitations effectively and productively. It gave our teachers the latitude and opportunity to work together creatively and efficiently.”

The 2017 semifinalists, chosen from a pool of applicants within a 100 mile radius of New York City, come from all five boroughs in New York City and other urban districts in Pennsylvania, upstate New York and New Jersey. Public voting will determine who advances to the finalist round, and from whom the one winner is ultimately selected by the judges.

Each principal’s application included details about the work the school would pursue with the prize money. Summaries of the 2017 applicants’ initiatives appear on the online ballot for public voting. This year’s submissions feature: ways of expanding the network of teacher leaders in the school, a video-based teacher mentor pilot, intensive lesson study and in-depth inquiry using a school-developed database of students’ learning gaps.

After careful deliberation, the following semi-finalists (listed in alphabetical order) were chosen to advance:

​​​Principal Donna Anaman – P.S. 87 Bronx, NY

Principal ​Berena Cabarcas – International Community High School/334 Bronx, NY